


Up And Down They Go

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Brief Shallura, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Getting Together, Heavy Angst, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Keith can't handle that much emotion lance chill, Keith keeps crashing into walls, Keith on the other hand basically trips everytime it happens because wtf is emotions???', Lance's mother is having none of his shit today, Lance's really aware of emotions, M/M, Mention of Death, Modern AU, On the second chapter tho...., Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates AU, Soulmates Marks, Soulmates can send emotions through their marks, Such Dorks, Temporary Character Death, They meet in the Viewing of a dead person, Weird First Meeting, broganes, but no one important tecnically, especially Lance's, flustered keith, shiro knows whats up before the two of them, smooth lance, sometimes they are a lil strong, that they dont know really, which is why it comes easily for him to send big waves of emotions to his soulmate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 17:54:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9836039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Sometimes, the person that you are truly meant to fall in love with will come into your life in the strangest, most unexpected way.”Fair; Lance has known this since he was young, his Abuelo used to be such a romantic, especially because the love story between him and his Abuela was beautiful, almost like a fairy tale.But this is just another kind of fucked up, because honestly, who on Earth meets their significant other during the Viewing of the Long Distance Not Even Blood Related Twice Removed Uncle from his Mother’s side?(That one time when Lance meets his future boyfriend, husband, soulmate but he doesn’t know it yet, he just knows that the boy on the corner is cute and has the most beautiful eyes he has seen in his life and he keeps crashing into multiple walls.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, this is so so so silly and really really stupid but I thought of it and I was like ...........well. 
> 
> Don’t ask me what this is, I don’t know neither. When I said I wanted to do a Soulmate Au this isn’t what I had in mind….I know I suck yes, stop cringing. 
> 
> But but but but – I have nothing. Enjoy whatever this is. It’s honestly just to keep my writing neurons on the move; you can tell I’m not on my best game. 
> 
> Excuse any grammar errors, you know this is not beta'd. I did tried my best tho! Do i get bonus points for that??? 
> 
> Disclaimer: Voltron doesn’t belong to me, *jazz hands*

Lance taps his foot rhythmically against the wooden floor until his Mama slaps him on the thigh and glares at him.

He stops with a pout and crosses his arms over his chest, rolling his eyes when his Mama slaps him once again but on the arm this time, silently telling him to sit straighter on the chair.

Lance suppresses an annoyed sigh and does what he’s silently told, there’s no point on arguing with his mom during the Viewing of a stranger.

Well, ‘stranger’ for him, because there is a bunch of people around him that are mourning the loss of …

Lance spares a quick glance to the big board that’s a few feet from him on the entrance that informs the people from the outside who the Viewing is for. Squinting a little, Lance reads the name and then nods to himself.

Satsumi Astorga, yeah.

If Lance remembers correctly the brief explanation his dad told him during the trip to the Viewing, the guy –more like ‘old guy’, did Satsumi ever exfoliated? Those wrinkles could’ve been avoided – is supposed to be his second uncle twice removed from his mom’s side. Lance’s pretty sure that the bond between his mom and Sarutobi is not even blood related, because his mom is from Cuba before she moved to the States and Sarutobi was from South Korea.

But could Lance voice his questions out loud? NoooOOOOooo ~

His mom had actually scolded him when he had barely opened his mouth –that woman knows him too well – saying that those questions are rude during the Viewing because it was a time to mourn and grief.

Lance’s still a little pissed that he had to come to this Viewing that he doesn’t even know the person it is for and his younger siblings were able to stay back home.

It’s not that Lance’s an insensible person or even an asshole, alright? On the contrary, he considers himself to be quite the emotional person, fully aware of his own emotions and being empathic to other people’s emotions. It’s exactly that fact why he doesn’t like Viewing or Funerals in general.

Okay, fair, no one likes them, but Lance likes them even _less_. He has always been really receptive about other’s emotions and it gets a little overwhelming if there is a lot of one feeling at the same time and in Funerals that feeling is usually sadness, combined with grief and mourning and a lot more of negative emotions.

It makes him a little sick and dizzy if he’s being honest, because it just makes him want to hug every single person in the room, wanting to comfort, but he knows that’s weird because _he doesn’t know who these people are._

_He doesn’t even know the dead guy._

Somehow, his mom had read his thoughts and slaps him once again, this time on the shoulder, glaring at him irritated.

 _‘Don’t call the dead guy: dead guy, noted.’_ Lance thinks sarcastically on his head, raising both of his hands up in surrender to his mama.

Lance suppresses the urge to whistle as his eyes wanders around the room. Apparently Sarutobi had quite the diversity when it came to family and friends because there were people from all places around him and Lance likes to believe that this guy had been quite the social guy back in his days.

He barely notices the faint call of his name his Papa does, telling him that he and his mama are going to sit with a bunch of other people to – okay, Lance stopped paying attention after that. He limited himself to nod at his Papa, and then went back to look around, now sitting alone in the middle of the room.

It must had been at least ten minutes before there’s a body falling floppily besides him and Lance raises his head in surprise, eyes wide at the sudden introduction.

“Sorry,” the guy apologizes, arm over his eyes as he leans back on the chair, “My bad. Sorry for disturbing you.”

Lance opens his mouth and then closes it a few times, not knowing what to say but at the end he clears his throat, “Uh, it’s fine, don’t worry about it.  I was just startled.”

The guy, a little older than him easily, just hums as a reply and Lance takes it as that’s that. Silence falls upon them but weirdly enough it’s not that uncomfortable.

Lance’s a social guy, that much is well known; he can get along with anyone and start a conversation out of the blue but somehow, right now, it feels like it’s almost unnecessary, the atmosphere is calm and natural, it feels somewhat familiar that Lance’s hand unconsciously fall on his soulmate mark, a small red arrow pointing down, located on the back of his wrist and then his thumb starts gently rubbing against it.

He usually does this whenever he feels at ease, wondering if that’s what how it feels to be with your soulmate once you met them. It is known that soulmates can send waves of feelings through their marks, as if they wanted to share something between them without the need of words, and Lance and his soulmate had the tendency to do it whenever the other one was feeling either down or relaxed.

Right now, Lance just frowns in concern when the feeling he gets back from his soulmate is a tired one. It’s a well-known feeling between them, especially during finals week and deadlines, but his soulmate usually tried to be more upbeat than that.

Lance hums to himself before he’s sending back a concern feeling through their soul bond. It’s filled with support and fondness, wanting to let his soulmate know that it’s okay to feel that way and to take his time.

He wonders if he may have sent a little too much of it when suddenly someone on his right yelps and crashes into a wall.

Lance blinks at the commotion, biting his lip hard to suppress his laugh, and then he notices how the guy who was sitting beside him removes his arm, his metal arm now that Lance notices, from his eyes and then his rolling his gray eyes towards the teen who had just high fived the wall with his face.

“Keith,” The guy calls quietly and the teen on the ground hums at him, “Get up, bro. You’re allergic to dust.”

The black haired teen groans at him but slowly turns his body and then stands up, rubbing grumpily his nose.

“What happened?” The older brother asks and the teen grunts.

“Soulmate thingy, you know, it took me by surprised. They sometimes send a little too much.” Keith mumbles, and it sounds like a complaint but the small smile that creeps around his mouth telling a whole different story.

The guy with the white streak on his hair chuckles softly at his younger brother, “This is the fifth time this week, Keith. You keep crashing into walls and post lamps.”

Okay, being fair here, that’s a pretty livid image in Lance opinion; so technically, he’s excuse if he’s suddenly laughing at it, imagining the black haired teen with a grumpy cat look face-palming a wall over and over again because of his soulmate mark.

Both brothers turn to him in surprise.

“I’m sorry, oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, I’m not, this is –Okay, sorry sorry.” Lance babbles incoherently, trying to suppress his giggle and avoiding the disapprovingly looks of the adults around them but fortunately, the brothers just look curiously at him.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” The older of the two says, offering a soft smile that Lance returns, “I’m Shiro. I have never seen you before, were you close to Satsumi?”

Lance shakes his head, noticing by the corner of his eye as Keith takes the seat besides Shiro, his dark blue eyes firmly placed on Lance. “Lance and no, my mom was, somewhat, we came to pay our respects.”

“Hard to do when you’re laughing in mid Viewing.” Keith mumbles and Lance frowns.

“I said I was sosrry. Besides, I was laughing at –“ Lance shuts his mouth.

Keith raises an eyebrow at him, “At?” he presses and Lance’s quick to change the subject.

“Did you know the guy? Satsumi?” He asks instead, eyes on Shiro and shifting a little on his seat as he feels Keith’s eyes on him.

“He’s our dad’s great once removed uncle.”

Lance tilts his head, “Does that make us something-something?”

Shiro chuckles, “I have no idea, buddy.”

Lance laughs with him, and almost chokes on his own spit when his soul mark suddenly burns.

“Ow.” He murmurs, frowning confused as his eyes fall on the red mark on his wrist. Shiro follows his eyes and his eyebrows rise in surprise.

“Uh…” He says before his head turns to meet Keith’s, a wide grin spreading through this face as he notices the flushed face his younger brother suddenly has. The brothers mouth to each other silently, but Lance’s too focused on his soul mark to notice.

That’s…a first. Their bond is mature enough to send big amounts feelings, sometimes so big that it may either feel like a spark that feels like a burn or frostbite, depending on the emotion. Burns usually meant that his soulmate felt a sudden rush of heavy emotion such as: love, affection, surprise, curiosity and excitement.

Confused by his soulmate’s sudden amount of affection, he sends back his own emotion, a strong feeling of equal affection combined with concern, not even noticing when the brother had started to argue with each other and Keith had suddenly left his seat, walking away from them.

One second. That all it took before Lance sent his emotion and suddenly Keith was yelping in surprise before hitting a wall once again.

Shiro splutters in surprise and he’s suddenly chocking in his own laughter, a young white haired woman walking towards him to slap him softly on the back with a confused look on her face, but Lance’s attention is entirely in Keith’s groaning form on the floor a few feet from him.

Suspicion is starting to grow inside Lance but he needs a few more tries to rule out every theory in his head.

He waits until Keith’s standing up again, grumbling to himself and walking towards the kitchen before Lance sends another wave of emotion. Lance notices as Keith’s steps flatter for a second before he’s turning back and he’s glaring at him.

“Stop it.” He mouth silently at him and Lance just beams.

“Oh my god.” He whispers in awe and Keith flushes in a lovely red color.

“I know, right?” Shiro says, wiping some tears from the corner of his eyes.

“Shiro.” The young woman besides him warns in firm voice but she’s smiling amusedly at the entire scene.

“But Allura – what are the chances! I mean –“

“Alright, come on; let them figure this out themselves.” Allura says, pulling him off the chair and pushing him towards the kitchen, giving Keith, who hasn’t moved in the slightest, a push toward Lance’s seat.

“Um,” Keith says, rubbing the back of his neck nervously and Lance’s heart skips a beat when he notices the small mark on Keith’s wrist, it’s a blue arrow pointing up.  

Lance chuckles and stands up from his seat, “Hi, I’m Lance.” He says, raising his hand and smiling when Keith chuckles.

“Keith.” He says, smiling softly at the brunet, meeting Lance’s hand half way and then they are connected and a sudden rush feeling passes through them.

“Um,” It’s Lance’s turn to look nervous, “Woah, that was…”

“Strong?” Keith suggests, a knowing smirk on his face, “Yeah, buddy, imagine feeling that five times a week out of the sudden, making you hit every wall near you.”

Lance blinks at him and then he’s laughing.

“Oh my god, Satsumi, dude, my man, if your ghost is here, I’m so sorry for laughing in your viewing but –This is hilarious, my soulmate wall crashes when I sent him lovely waves of affection, isn’t that adorable? I mean!” Lance says, squeezing Keith’s hand tighter and pulling him closer, “Oh my god, _Keith_!”

“Lance Alesandro McClain!” He hears his mama shout from the other side of the room and Lance visually winces.

“Okay, maybe this Viewing will also be mine after my mama lectures me to death, but, _but_! Here’s my number –“ Lance says quickly, taking a sharpie out of his back pocket and writing a series of numbers on Keith’s palm, “Call me, beep me, if you wanna reach me.” He sing songs, winking at the end and then he’s walking past Keith, shouting back to a middle age woman that has the same hair color as Lance’s and suddenly Keith’s left on the middle of the room blinking in a daze.

Once Lance’s out of the vision, Keith’s eyes fall on the numbers on his skin and involuntarily smiles softly at them. With his left hand, he starts rubbing his soul mark gently and laughs when he gets a strong emotion in response two seconds later.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Hey, you wanted a continuation. You never said HOW you wanted it.
> 
> Enjoy the angst.
> 
> Uuuh, it's short and excuse any errors??? 
> 
> Disclaimer: Voltron doesn’t belong to me.

**[23:41 pm] SamuraiKeith:** Ok, now that’s just ridiculous

 **[23:41 pm] SirLance:** What’s ridiculous is that you don’t like cheese but yet you eat pizza AND Mac &Cheese

 **[23:41 pm] SirLance:** But the second you see a tiny speck of parmesan on a potato wedge, you NOPE the fuck out of there

 **[23:42 pm] SamuraiKeith:** Parmesan is weird!!!

 **[23:42 pm] SirLance:** you like blue cheese but not parmesan? My soulmate is cray cray

 **[23:43 pm] SamuraiKeith:** says the one who needs his guava smashed like potatoes for him to eat it without a pout

 **[23:45 pm] SirLance:** okay, alright, okay! _Guayaba_ is a mean fruit, that it doesn’t make sense? You can’t really enjoy it and chew on it COMFORTABLY because you need to be aware of the seeds in case you chew on one of them and THAT’S unpleasant.

 **[23:46 pm] SamuraiKeith:** omg you neeeeerd lmao

 **[23:48 pm] SamuraiKeith:** btw don’t forget this Saturday’s date! I already made reservations to Arusian’s Village, it’s going to blow your mind, believe me

 **[23:48 pm] SamuraiKeith:** I’m going to pick you up so you don’t have to worry about driving back at night, kay? (:

 **[23:52 pm] SamuraiKeith:** Lance? You there?

 **[23:55 pm] SamuraiKeith:** did you arrive to your house? Or ??

 **[23:55 pm] SamuraiKeith:** did you fell asleep before Theo again while watching Hercules???

 **[23:57 pm] SamuraiKeith:** there’s no point of babysitting if you are not going to watch the baby, loser

 **[23:59 pm] SamuraiKeith:** Lance? Did something happ 

* * *

Keith’s message sends before he can finish because his thump accidentally pushes the ‘send’ button by mistake.

The seventeen years old hisses under his breath as he rubs his soul mark gently, frowning in confusion at the sudden cold air it brought. Just a second ago it had been warm and tingly but now it was harsh and cold.

It’s not an uncommon feeling between them; they have shared so many emotions by now that they are well balanced. Burning and Frosting emotions only came when either soulmate had a sudden rush of emotions, let it be from positive to negative, but Lance and him haven’t had that kind of emotions since they officially met a few months ago.

There’s an unpleasant feeling inside of him but he shakes it off and then blocks his cellphone screen, leaving it by his side to know if his boyfriend’s replies, and then he turns to his laptop and continues typing his essay.

The cellphone’s screen stays black.

* * *

Keith’s mid-chewing his midnight snack when there’s a sudden cold feeling on his wrist.

It’s strong enough to make him drop his protein bar and almost choke on what he had in his mouth already. Shiro was by his side in an instant, patting him on the back with concern but an amused smile twitching in the corner of his mouth.

“Let me guess, Lance?” He says but frowns when Keith’s eyes are firmly placed in his soul mark, “Keith?”

“Shiro.” He whispers, small, quietly and so scared that Shiro’s on alert in an instant, his big brother instincts kicking in less than a second, “ _Shiro_.” Keith presses, his free hand wrapped around just below his wrist and almost shoving it into his brother’s face.

Frost. The small soul mark had frost all over it, barely making possible to see the blue arrow behind it, and Shiro’s breaths stops short when he sees it.

 _‘It could be a mistake. Maybe Lance is just feeling down? Or sad, it doesn’t really mean…’_ He trails off in his own mind, biting his lower lip nervously as he watches Keith shift from one foot to another.

“Keith, relax. You know that frost doesn’t always mean ….death. You know this, sometimes it’s just a sad emotion or a negative thought.” He tries to reason, placing a comforting hand over Keith’s shoulder but the teen shrugs it off.

“No, no. You don’t understand. I know Lance’s emotions by now, Shiro. This…this isn’t his emotion; this is not even _an_ emotion. There’s _nothing_. I can’t feel anything behind this. It’s like he had…Like he disappeared or –or suddenly vanished.” Keith gasps and the hold on his wrist tightens unconsciously, “Shiro, what if he’s de–?”

“Okay, I’m gonna stop you right there, buddy.” He says, placing both hands now on Keith’s shoulder and keeping him there in place, “Take a deep breath. Yes, like that, good. Now, I know this is scary, but I need you to keep a positive attitude until we find out more about this, alright?”

Keith nods frenetically and then his cellphone rings from his back pocket. Answering with shaking hands, Keith presses the phone to his ear without looking at the caller Id.

“Hello?” He says and the person on the other side sobs at his greeting, “Hello? Who is this? Lance?”

“K –Keith, honey, it’s me, Lance’s mom.” The voice says, broken, cracking and so damn sad that it makes Keith to feel weak on his knees, “H –Honey, Lance’s –He was – _Oh Dios, mi bebe_.” The mother sobs brokenly and Keith’s a second away from breaking down with her.

“Um, Mrs. McClain?” He tries, clearing his throat when it cracks, “Is Lance’s okay?”

There’re a few more sobs and sniffles before, “He’s in the Marmora Hospital, _cielo_. He has been in an accident.”

He doesn’t need more; he’s suddenly dropping his phone and then running towards the kitchen counter to grab his keys. It’s just a few second later that he hears Shiro’s shouting behind him.

“Keith, _Keith_! Slow down! What happened? Keith!” He’s not listening, there’s only Lance in his mind, with half known information and uncertainty roaming in his mind.

He doesn’t even notice when Shiro picks up his phone and starts talking with Mrs.McClain or when his Mom climbs down the stairs to see what all the commotion is about. He doesn’t even acknowledge when his dad takes his bike’s keys form his shaking hands and his mom pulls him into a hug.

He doesn’t even knowledge he was crying until he was struggling to breath.

“Shh, deep breaths, baby, deep breaths, it’s okay.” His mom whispers softly in his ear, her hand stroking his hair in a soothing motion but Keith’s shaking with sobs.

“M-Mom, L-Lance’s – _Mom_!” He cries, burying his face in his mother’s chest as the woman shushes him gently.

The next few minutes are a blur for him. One moment he was in his mother’s arms in the middle of the kitchen and suddenly he was in the back seat of their van in Shiro’s arms as his big brother hummed a random song under his breath, his father driving and his mother doing quick and frequent back glances to both of her sons through the rearview mirror.

Keith just stares at the now frozen patch of skin he has instead of his soul mark, thin red marks barely visible on the edges but the black circle in the middle of it quite easy to see. He wonders if the frost bite he’s getting is going to hide his entire soul mark and if he’s going to have a burning black spot on his wrist instead of an arrow after this.

He wonders if getting his hand cut off is an option, because Keith doesn’t think he will be able to live everyday with the reminder that his soulmate is dead.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, last Chap, happy ending ofc, bc I'm not a mosnter (Shut up, I see u over there snickering) 
> 
> This fic was such a mess but meh, whatever, enjoy! 
> 
> Excuse any typos, please! 
> 
> Disclaimer: Voltron dones't belong to me.

Keith watches the clock on the wall.

It doesn't seem to move the right way, it’s almost as if was going back and forth every two seconds, trying to backtrack its steps, hesitation clear with every step forward it does.

Keith knows the feeling.

He also thinks that he might be going insane, because while he knows he hadn’t had enough sleep in the last day properly, he knows how clocks work.

Keith shuts his eyes when the image of the clock turns blurry. He grunts and rubs his eyes annoyed before he lowers his head and glares at the white floor of the hospital.

His heart aches. His muscles, head, chest, bones ache and  _ he’s so damn cold _ . The soft yellow blanket Mrs. McClain had put on him earlier when he first arrived is still wrapped around his shoulder but no warmth comes to him.

His hands shakes furiously and Keith is so tempted to just place one of them above his soulmark on his wrist; he physically aches for the action he has been doing for the last few months and he longs for the familiarity of Lance’s warmth through their bond.

A pale hand similar to his own stops him just in time before his hand can make contact with the frost covered soulmark.

“Keith,” Shiro says softly besides him, frowning in concern, “Don’t. You will only hurt yourself.”

Keith scowls and tries to fight back. He tries to pull away from his brother’s hold but he’s too tired to even succeed in the least.

Keith sighs in defeat after a few seconds and then he snatch his hand away with a hard tug before he lets it fall on his side, his lip quivering from the roller coaster of emotions inside him that he tries really hard on not to think about.

Lance is the one who knows how to deal with emotions. Lance is the one emotionally stable, he’s the one who always manage to balance the two of them just the right way.

Keith raises his head from the floor to glare at the white door in front of him before he scoffs and shakes his head in disbelief, biting the inside of his lip in hopes to stop the tears from falling.

It’s doesn’t work.

His parents are inside the room with Lance’s, watching over the still unconscious teen. Visit hours haven’t even started for the day but after explaining the situation to the hospital staff, Keith and his family were able to stay along with the McClains.

Keith can still remember how familiar it felt when Mrs. McClain had hugged him as soon as she saw him enter the hospital doors the night before. Keith couldn’t help but sob at the moment when he recognized the warmth it brought him being so similar to Lance’s.

It took him a few long minutes before he was able to get a word out after that.

“Keith.” Shiro’s voice brings him back to the present, “Are you sure you want to stay here? We can go to the cafeteria or –”

Keith shakes his head vigorously, his eyes still firmly placed on Lance’s door. Lance’s parents had offered him to come inside, to see Lance for himself and reassure himself that he was alive and okay.

Keith couldn't. He had declined fast as his breathing came out erratically, on the edge of a panic attack and that’s how he ended up outside of the room with Shiro, waiting and gathering enough courage to go inside and see for himself.

Because how can they tell him that Lance’s alive and okay when he doesn’t feel his warmth on his soulmark? When Keith can’t feel the tickles and funny feelings that always come when Lance became too flustered?

When Keith’s soulmark was still frosted and  _ so damn cold _ ?

He couldn't feel a thing and he knew, he just knew, that if he went inside that room everything will turn into a reality. Keith wasn’t ready for that.

He hears Shiro sigh besides him and leans back on the chair.

“Okay.” Shiro whispers, “Okay, take your time, little bro. There’s no rush.”

Keith would beg to differ at the words as his soulmark turns colder by the second.

* * *

It’s five o’clock in the afternoon when Keith finally pushes himself off the uncomfortable chair and walks towards the white door.

The first thing he sees when he opens it carefully it’s Lance’s older brother, Tony, slumped against the chair in the corner, face pressed against the wall and soft snores coming from him.

The second thing he notices is the drawings on the wall from the other end of the room. Keith can easily recognize them as drawings from Lance’s nieces and nephews. The wonky and almost unreadable letters together trying to spell ‘Get well soon’ and ‘Miss you Uncle Lance’ makes Keith smile softly and sadly.

The third thing he acknowledges is the sleeping figure in the center of the room followed by the beeping sound coming from the machine besides the bed.

He walks towards it in silence, slow but sure steps making their way until he’s standing beside the bedside and he’s looking down at Lance.

He’s...sleeping. There’s no other description, the brunet is sleeping and he looks so at ease and peaceful. His cinnamon skin is a shade lighter than the last time he had seen Lance and there are a few scratches on the edge of his hairline and cheeks, dried blood around it despite being cleaned off.

Lance’s breathing is steady and Keith watches in amaze as he follows the way Lance’s chest raises before it falls gently.

Before he knows it, Keith’s following the rhythm of Lance’s breathing and that’s when he realizes that he had stopped breathing there for a minute. The air that fills his lungs is welcome and Keith can suddenly feel a big weight pulled off from his shoulder.

Keith bites his lower lip, hesitating for a second before he leans down and drops a kiss against Lance’s forehead.

“Wake up soon, okay?” He whispers against the soft skin, “I will be here, Lance, so  _ please _ ?”

He waits.

“Wake up.”

One, two, three seconds before he sighs and gently nuzzles his face against Lance’s, finding comfort when the brunet’s breathing hits him in the face.

“Okay, okay.” Keith mumbles, suppressing a sigh, “That’s fine; take your time, just...”

Keith pushes himself away but keeps his face close to Lance’s, pushing away some stray bangs out of his face with his hand.

“I’m here.” Keith finishes softly.

He takes a seat on the empty chair besides the right side of the bed. Keith distracts himself with Lance’s hand. He caresses the smooth skin with his thumb for a few minutes. It’s not long before he starts playing with Lance’s long slender fingers, interlocking them with his own and then opening them once again, repeating the motion over and over.

It’s fifteen minutes later when the motion stops and Keith ends up dropping his head against the edge of Lance’s bed, his breathing slowing down as he loses consciousness but he keeps his grip on Lance’s hand tight.

His hold never wavers in the least.

* * *

He’s pretty sure he couldn't have been sleeping for more than half an hour and yet Keith frowns in discomfort as he feels a wet spot on the sheets and fights against consciousness in hopes to continue sleeping.

Keith brings his hand towards his face, touching his cheeks and feeling somewhat surprised when there’s no wetness in them. He scrunches his nose in disgust as his brain flashes him the different possibilities on how the bed could be wet all of the sudden and he grimaces when the thought of urine strikes him.

He groans annoyed before he raises his head and glares at the wall in front of him, eyes still half open and mind half asleep as he raises from his seat and heads towards the bathroom inside the room, murmuring to himself about drinking too much water and faintly noticing how the room is silent around him, Tony’s snores long gone and only the beeping sound of Lance’s machine making noise.

Keith’s too concentrated in cursing at the world that it takes him by surprise when a sharp hot feeling shocks him and then he’s groaning in pain when his face collides with the bathroom door by accident.

“What the fu –” He stops short, eyes widening when he sees his forearm in front of him as he raises it to rub his injured nose.

He only has a few seconds to stare in shock before he’s warm. He’s warm and something tickles by his wrist making its way down his arm. His dark blue eyes widen at the sight of the frost melting over his soulmark, small wet drops falling to the ground and Keith can already feel the tears gathering around his eyes at the sight.

He opens his mouth in shock and then he hears a soft warm chuckle behind him. His neck makes a sick cracking noise when he turns around sharply at the sound.

Keith’s heart skips a beat and his body feels like a feather in the air when he meets Lance’s baby blue eyes staring at him from his place on the bed.

Lance smiles softly, his hand still pressed against his own soulmark as his eyes twinkle with fondness and happiness.

“Hello there.” The brunet greets quietly, voice hoarse and weak but Keith has to suppress the shiver that runs down his spine because that’s Lance speaking.

That’s Lance’s staring at him.

Lance’s smiling at him.

“Keith?”

That’s Lance.

Keith’s lip quivers dangerously and he’s trying his best to conceal his emotions but there’s too much of it. It doesn’t help that Lance’s happiness and love keeps spreading through him and before he knows what’s happening, Keith’s crossing the room and falling against Lance’s chest, hard sobs shaking his entire form as he hugs the brunet tight around the middle, being careful of his injuries.

“L-Lance, oh my g-god,  _ Lance _ !” Keith sobs, moving around until he’s hiding his face on Lance’s neck and Lance chuckles wetly.

“S-sorry.” Lance mumbles against Keith’s hair, “I-I’m sorry. The car came o-out of n-nowhere and I-I couldn’t move –”

“I-It’s okay.” Keith cuts him off, not unkindly, as he presses himself deeper into Lance’s embrace, “It’s o-okay, it’s done. Y-You’re here, it’s f-fine. You’re here.”

He feels Lance’s sob against him and then the brunet is hiding his face on Keith’s hair.

“I-I’m here.” Lance repeats, sobs shaking his body, “I’m h-here. Y-You’re here.”

Keith laughs wetly, pulling away just enough to look at the brunet in the eye and smiles brightly at him.

“Of course I am.” Keith whispers, sniffling before cupping Lance’s cheeks with his hands, “I told you I would be.” He reminds fondly, smiling at the brunet as he wipes Lance’s cheeks with his thumbs.

Lance smiles back and laughs through the tears.

“I made you crash into the door again.” Lance mumbles playfully and Keith pokes his forehead.

“Babe, you can make me crash against all the doors and walls you want if that mean you stay by my side.” Keith confesses, his lips a breath away from Lance’s and the brunet smiles with anticipation.

“I will take your word on it, Mister.” Lance replies softly, eyelids half open as he stares at Keith’s lips, “Because I’m not leaving you anytime soon.”

They close the gap and their soulmarks burn pleasantly as their lips touch, every breath and gasp being sucked in into the other’s mouth as they move gently and without rush.

Keith’s hand moves all the way down until it finds Lance’s soulmark and his heart fills with joy and warm when he feels the steady hard beat from Lance’s heart through it.

The warmth is back.


End file.
